Having just hit 50 posts, I thought I would share some reflections on blogging:
Things I enjoy about blogging:
1) I have been out of grad school for 3 years, and I have found blogging to be a very useful way to organize thoughts and to motivate myself to keep learning. Without blogging I don't think I would have ever have had the motivation to put in the time and effort to construct a quarterly forecast model, something I've always been interested in but never found the time for.
2) Feedback - I love getting comments, not only because blogging (and maybe Canadian econoblogging in particular) can sometimes feel like an echo chamber but because they help me to refine or revise my thinking. Enormously helpful.
3) I like having a record of my thoughts, even if they don't always make sense.
Things I don't enjoy:
1) Sometimes I simply don't have anything to say, for extended periods of time. I am in constant amazement of people like Nick Rowe, Mark Thoma, Menzie Chinn/James Hamilton and others that put up insightful and detailed posts on a daily basis.
2) Blogging can be time consuming - I have a wife and two kids (1 and 3), and a demanding full time job and finding time/energy to write is not always easy.
3) Working hard on a post that I think is really interesting and then seeing a big doughnut in the comments section. A little deflating at times - then again, I probably only comment on 1/100 of the blog posts I read, so I'm not sure why anyone else would be any different.
In all, after 50 posts I'm reasonably happy with my contribution to the small world of Canadian economics blogging. My next project for the site is to build a US model and post US forecasts, perhaps as a summer project.
Thanks to all who have been reading - on to the next 50!
4 comments:
I always read your posts. Sometimes I even understand them. Keep it up.
Thanks for the blog. Don't feel bad about having nothing to say at times - in this world of RSS feed readers it's quality, not quantity that matters. A feed can be dead for months or years and then pop up with a new post and I'll read it. This law students finds your blog useful as I think about the economic view on public policy questions.
"Things I enjoy about blogging:"
Don't forget the ad revenue.
Here's my secret: I'm on sabbatical, my kids are grown up, and I'm not doing much else with my time. It is very time-consuming.
I'm amazed that people with full-time jobs, and small kids, can do any blogging at all! You are doing well.
No comments doesn't mean nobody is reading, and interested.
Post a Comment